The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced two roster moves ahead of the team’s Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Here’s an overview:
- TE Zach Ertz and OT John Ojukwu were temporarily elevated from the practice squad.
Note: teams are permitted to temporarily elevate up to two practice squad players per game. A player can be elevated up to three times in the regular season and an unlimited number of times in the postseason.
Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.
ZACH ERTZ
This is Ertz’s third and final elevation for the 2026 regular season. The Eagles
will have to sign him to the roster if they want the veteran tight end to be available for game action moving forward.
With Dallas Goedert returning from injury, it’ll be interesting to see what Ertz’s snap count looks like. From the past two games without Goedert:
- Week 3 at Chicago Bears: 19 snaps on offense (38%)
- Week 4 vs. Los Angeles Rams: 14 snaps on offense (21%)
The Eagles could have four active tight ends with Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins also in the mix.
JOHN OJUKWU
Ojukwu was expected to get a call up with the Eagles needing more offensive line depth.
Philly’s projected starting five for Sunday morning:
- LT Jordan Mailata
- LG Willie Lampkin
- C Jake Majors
- RG Tyler Steen
- RT Markel Bell
Philly’s backup options on the offensive line:
- Fred Johnson
- Micah Morris
- John Ojukwu
Johnson figures to be the swing tackle behind Mailata and Bell. The team could also use him at guard in a pinch, unless they trust the rookie Morris in that capacity. Ojukwu has more experience at tackle but the Eagles did have him play 10 snaps at guard in the preseason, so, he could also be available to play the interior in an emergency situation.
NON-MOVES
Lane Johnson still counts towards the Eagles’ 53-player roster limit because the Eagles did not yet officially move him to a different list (such as reserve/retired or reserve/left squad). The Athletic offered some reporting on this situation earlier today:
Why the Eagles haven’t officially said goodbye to Lane Johnson — Philadelphia, meanwhile, still has not processed the paperwork on Lane Johnson’s retirement — that’s due to cap considerations, I’m told. Johnson announced Tuesday he was walking away from the game to focus on his mental health and spend more time with loved ones. The Eagles thanked him for his years of service, and I’m sure it’ll be a helluva party in Canton at some point in the 2030s. But there is still the matter of nearly $22 million. Johnson had a $21.7 million option bonus this season, with about half of it already paid and the other half due in December. The Eagles have the right to get back at least some of the money due to forfeiture. But it’s less about the cold cash and far more about the cap implications for 2027 and 2028, which had been assessed as manageable should he have been declared a post-June 1 cut next year. “They’ll figure it out easily enough,” one cap guru told me. “Just some accounting gymnastics, as all cap problems are.” One potential option is placing Johnson on the left-squad list. The designation sounds bad given Johnson’s stated reasons for retiring, but it would allow the team to clear the roster spot and preserve the cap hits in 2027 and 2028 as a June 2 cut. “They have to be careful about forfeiture,” a second cap guy said. “Asking someone of his stature and what he’s done won’t look good.” These are always delicate situations. The Indianapolis Colts didn’t force Andrew Luck to pay back the money he could have forfeited. The Detroit Lions did with Calvin Johnson and got the cold shoulder for years. And the Saints finagled a compromise with Derek Carr two offseasons ago to make his retirement fit their cap needs.
